We live in zone 6a and I have been gardening and cooking for years. This blog is an opportunity for me to share with you my success and those failures that come about on occasion. Plus, I want to hear from all the gardeners and bakers and cooks out there and learn from you. Feel free to share your ideas.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

I just came in from walking in the garden and there is nothing like pulling up a carrot and washing it off and eating it straight away. So very different from the carrots purchased at the store and so much better .

We had a 60 mile an hour severe wind storm yesterday, that was followed by pouring down rain. We ended up with about a 1/2 inch of rainfall and really needed that. However, Ohio has now been declared an emergency because power is out all over the state. We are fortunate because we did not loose electricity like we did a few years ago when it took about 5 days before it was restored. But it sounds as if it could take days to restore it in this 100 degree weather.

Monday, June 25, 2012

I will be baking a Blueberry-Nectarine Pie for the month of July as a TWDBWJ member. I found the actual recipe at the Baking With Julia TV website. Stay tuned for my creation and photos. The plan is to have this for dessert on the 4th of July!!

Makes 6 - 8 servings
Put half of the fruit in a medium saucepan, add sugar, flour, and lemon zest.
Stir to mix. Bring to a soft boil, stirring constantly, and simmer until liquid
thickens. Remove from heat, transfer into a bowl and stir in the uncooked fruit.
Taste liquid, and adjust flavoring by adding lemon juice. Let cool.
Cut dough in half and on a lightly floured work surface roll one half into an
11-inch circle. Fit crust into a 9-inch cake pan with 1-inch-high sides. Allow
excess dough to hang over sides. Roll remaining piece of dough into a 10-inch
circle. Spoon the cooled filling into the pie shell and dot with butter. Trim
the overhanging dough to 1/2 inch. Lift the 10-inch circle of dough onto the
pie, aligning edges of top crust with bottom crust. Fold both layers of
overhanging dough under to create a thick edge around the rim of the pan. Crimp
with fingers, creating scallops every 2 inches around the rim. Press the tines
of a fork against the flat scallops to decorate. Paint with egg wash and
sprinkle with crystal sugar. Cut 4 to 6 slits in the crust and chill for
minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Place pie on a
parchment lined pan and bake 50 minutes or until crust is golden. Let cool 30
minutes before cutting.

If anyone has a sure fire way to keep squirrels out of the tomato beds I would love to know your solutions.I had one Black Krim ripening, and this morning I found it on the ground next to the plant. Although I had heavy plastic fencing around my tomatoes to keep the deer out, it did nothing for the squirrels. I now have plastic fencing on top of the entire bed and the bottom portion of the fencing is weighed down by bricks around the perimeter.

Monday, June 18, 2012

This is a wonderful dessert. The actual cake is a genoise and this recipe called for one layer to be sliced so that there would be three layers. I baked this cake in a 6 inch pan with a removable bottom. But please note that I did not pour all of the batter into this pan, since the recipe called for an 8 inch pan. I probably left out about a cup of batter.The cake was not that difficult to make. I beat the batter with my KitchenAid with the whip attachment at medium speed for about 10 minutes.

Please visit our hosts for this month's recipe if you are interested in making this dessert. Our hosts will also post the recipe for the French Strawberry Cake if you would like to make this yummy creation Hosts are Sophia of Sophia’s
Sweets and Allison of
Sleep Love Think Dine.

Even though I used a pan with a removable bottom, I still used a wax paper lining.

Well it is close to 90 outside and I thought I would plant some petunias I purchased to fill in some planters. Plus I thought weeding would be a good idea. I must be crazy, because it is too darn hot out there. Petunias are planted and I did 30 minutes of weeding. I am now inside drinking a large glass of water. I hope to take updated pictures tomorrow to post of the vegetables. They are doing well so far.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

You know when you say to yourself that you should pick that lettuce and then you say--umm I can do that tomorrow. One should rethink that because the deer may get to it before you do and that is what happened to me. I had a large pot of lettuce on the patio just read to be harvested and the deer took advantage of it. When will I learn. Well at least I have lettuce in the raised bed and they can't get to that.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

It is amazing how in one week the garden can change so dramatically.The tomatoes are 3 feet tall and are popping out little green tomatoes. I can start to snip basil and use it in sauces. Snipping it here and there will make the basil more bushy. The chard took off like a bolt of lightening, along with the beans and eggplants. The lettuce has had a second regrowth and I have a cabbage that is about ready to be harvested.

However, the broccoli raab looks pretty sad and I will replant it in the fall.

I found the following at the OSU website. I had been hearing more and more about poison hemlock and how people confuse it with Queen Anne's Lace. The consequences of getting this on your skin is worse than poison ivy.

Poison-hemlock

Poison-hemlock is acutely toxic to people and animals. Unrelated to
the native evergreen hemlock tree, poison-hemlock can be deadly; it has gained
notoriety through its use in the state execution of Socrates.
Poison-hemlock can be confused with wild
carrot (Daucus carota, or Queen Anne's Lace), as with many other
members of the parsley family that resemble it. It has hairless hollow stalks
with purple blotches. It can get quite tall, sometimes up to 8 feet or higher.
It produces many umbrella-shaped flower clusters in an open and branching
inflorescense. In contrast, wild carrot has one dense flower cluster on a
narrow, hairy stem, usually with one purple flower in the center of the flower
cluster, and is usually 3 feet tall or less. Poison-hemlock starts growing in
the spring time, producing flowers in late spring, while wild carrot produces
flowers later in the summer.

Toxicity

Poison-hemlock
is acutely toxic to people and animals, with symptoms appearing 20 minutes to
three hours after ingestion. All parts of the plant are poisonous and even the
dead canes remain toxic for up to three years. The amount of toxin varies and
tends to be higher in sunny areas. Eating the plant is the main danger, but it
is also toxic to the skin and respiratory system. When digging or mowing large
amounts of poison-hemlock, it is best to wear gloves and a mask or take frequent
breaks to avoid becoming ill. One individual had a severe reaction after
pulling plants on a hot day because the toxins were absorbed into her skin. The
typical symptoms for humans include dilation of the pupils, dizziness, and
trembling followed by slowing of the heartbeat, paralysis of the central nervous
system, muscle paralysis, and death due to respiratory failure. For animals,
symptoms include nervous trembling, salivation, lack of coordination, pupil
dilation, rapid weak pulse, respiratory paralysis, coma, and sometimes death.
For both people and animals, quick treatment can reverse the harm and typically
there aren’t noticeable aftereffects. If you suspect poisoning from this plant,
call for help immediately because the toxins are fast-acting – for people, call
poison-control at 1-800-222-1222 or for animals, call your veterinarian.

Well I have a bounty of Swiss Chard. The good news is that this has exceeded my expectations. However, can you freeze Swiss Chard? If so, what is the most successful way you have found to do this? Thanks for all of your help.